back door makeover

Everyone uses our back door.

Everyone.

The front of the house sits close to the road. There is a side walk that leads to the front door and runs directly to the road. It does not connect to our driveway, just dumps out onto our country road. To get to the front door one would have to either walk out to the road and walk basically in the road to the sidewalk. Or they could trek up a little hill and cut across the lawn to the front door.

It’s kinda awkward and a bit treacherous.

Our back door, which is really a side door, has a walk that does connect to the drive. So everyone uses the back door.

After three years, I figured it was time for a little dressing up.

The concrete step was wobbly and small, making it difficult to step up and swing the door out while balancing a bag of groceries on the hip or trying to keep a barn cat from sneaking in with you. The white door blended into the siding. And, being vinyl, it didn’t give off that farmhouse vibe I was hoping for.

Before, missing the step but you get the picture.

I wanted to change it out for an authentic wooden door and beef up the step so there was something more substantial to stand on. I also wanted to add color to be more inviting and draw attention, so it is clear where the entrance is.

Since the Old Man possesses a love for me beyond all reason, he spent several days and many trips to the hardware store to properly fit and trim out the door (nothing is square or level in an 1850’s house and everything takes twice as long as expected). He calmly put up with my freaking out once we took everything apart and I thought it would never go back together (nothing’s level, people).

He even custom made the panels on the lower half of the door so the cats don’t scratch up the screen and we don’t put a foot through it coming and going. He let me pick my favorite shade of green to paint it.

And he built the custom step to finish it all out. He knows how to spoil a girl!

I love driving up to the house and seeing an inviting entrance. I love the swing and the bang shut of a wooden door. And I love the people walking through it!

What we’ve done to the back entrance:

Replace the exteriors light with metal farm light. Light from Home Depot.